World Cup 2026: Group Stage Wraps Up, Round of 32 Bracket Set

The Group Stage Is Done

The FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage has officially wrapped up, and for the first time in tournament history, the field has been trimmed from 48 teams down to 32 through a Round of 32 knockout stage. From here, every match is single elimination. A draw is no longer possible: if scores are level after 90 minutes, the match goes to 30 minutes of extra time, and if it’s still tied after that, it comes down to penalty kicks.

How the Bracket Was Built

For the first time, the tournament used 12 groups (A through L) instead of the traditional eight. The bracket is made up of the 12 group winners, the 12 runners-up, and the eight best third-place finishers across all 12 groups.
Group winners: Mexico, Switzerland, Brazil, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Argentina, Colombia, and England.
Runners-up: South Africa, Canada, Morocco, Australia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Egypt, Cape Verde, Norway, Austria, Portugal, and Croatia.
Best third-place teams: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paraguay, Ecuador, Sweden, Algeria, Senegal, DR Congo, and Ghana. Algeria and Austria were among the last teams to clinch their spots, both advancing out of Group J on the tournament’s final day of group play.

Full Round of 32 Schedule

Sunday, June 28
South Africa vs. Canada — Los Angeles
Monday, June 29
Brazil vs. Japan — Houston
Germany vs. Paraguay — Boston
Netherlands vs. Morocco — Monterrey
Tuesday, June 30
Ivory Coast vs. Norway — Dallas
France vs. Sweden — New Jersey
Mexico vs. Ecuador
Wednesday, July 1
England vs. DR Congo — Atlanta
United States vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina — San Francisco Bay Area
Belgium vs. Senegal — Seattle
Thursday, July 2
Portugal vs. Croatia — Toronto
Spain vs. Austria — Los Angeles
Switzerland vs. Algeria — Vancouver
Friday, July 3
Argentina vs. Cape Verde — Miami
Colombia vs. Ghana — Kansas City
Australia vs. Egypt — Dallas

Matchups to Watch

A few games on this schedule stand out as potential early classics. Netherlands-Morocco brings together the Dutch and a Morocco squad that reached the semifinals last cycle, while Brazil will need to deal with a fast, well-organized Japan side the same day. Portugal-Croatia pairs two teams loaded with experienced midfielders, and either side losing early would qualify as one of the tournament’s bigger surprises. Argentina and France, meanwhile, drew about as favorable a matchup as either could hope for, facing Cape Verde and Sweden respectively.
Source: CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Sky Sports